The Developmental Research Program (DRP) of the Partnership is responsible for the overall management of the research programs conducted through joint institutional pre-pilot, pilot and full scientific research projects. The DRP is responsible for proposal solicitation announcements for competitions, initial evaluation and scoring of proposals, and selection of projects to be funded. The DRP also assists with selection of mentors for junior faculty project co-leaders. In addition, the DRP conducts interim project evaluations, and, along with the Research Training &Career Development Program, evaluations mentor-mentee performances. The DRP is responsible for recommending continuation of projects, elevation of projects from pre-pilot to pilot or from pilot to full research projects, or termination of projects. Decisions to terminate a project must be approved by the Program Steering Committee. Thus, the specific aims of the DRP are 1) to provide funding for pilot research projects that demonstrate the capability to become full research projects within the Partnership or to achieve independent funding following completion;2) to provide excellent and well-trained mentors for junior faculty co-leaders who have received pilot or full research project funding as part of the Partnership;and 3) to provide interim evaluation of projects and mentors in order to assure the continued success of the individual projects and the overall success of the DRP.